


Home Alone

by Robin Hood (kjack89)



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21807328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kjack89/pseuds/Robin%20Hood
Summary: "Besides, there’s conflicting reports from the unis on the scene that I gotta get to the bottom of,” Sonny said, pulling his coat on. “Some are saying the kid did the damage to the property, created booby traps to deter the perps and who knows what else.”“Like Home Alone?” Rafael asked, sitting up and sounding interested for the first time.Sonny ignored him. “Others are saying the kid was lost and stumbled into the whole mess.”“Like Home Alone 2: Lost in New York?”Sonny rolled his eyes. “And here you were telling me not even two weeks ago that you didn’t see why we needed to steal my sister’s log in for Disney+,” he said good-naturedly, bending over to kiss the top of Rafael’s head.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 112





	Home Alone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ships_to_sail](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ships_to_sail/gifts).



> All my love to Chelsea for letting me steal her idea and run with it <3
> 
> Usual disclaimer. Please be kind and tip your fanfic writers in the form of comments and/or kudos!

“Your wine, monsieur,” Sonny said, putting on a ridiculously fake French accent which sounded particularly discordant with his normal Staten Island accent as he handed Rafael a glass of wine, “and now, the pièce de résistance—”

He grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned on the TV with a flourish, grinning when the fake fireplace from Netflix appeared on the TV. “Ta-da,” he said triumphantly, sitting down next to Rafael on the couch and taking a sip of wine. “Happy Christmas Eve.”

Rafael rolled his eyes, but it was with obvious affection, and he leaned his head against Sonny’s shoulder, sighing happily as they sat in silence for a moment, framed by twinkling lights from the Christmas tree, the only sound the light strains of Christmas music coming from the TV.

Sonny’s grin softened as he glanced around their apartment, something like contentment stealing across his face. “Perfect,” he said, turning his head to kiss Rafael’s temple. “Absolutely—”

He was cut off by the sound of his phone ringing, and Rafael groaned, burrowing his head against Sonny’s shoulder. “Don’t answer it,” he pleaded. “Let it go to voicemail—”

But Sonny was already shifting to dig his phone out of his pocket, pausing the fake fire and answering his phone without glancing at who was calling. “Carisi,” he said, and Rafael groaned again before flopping down against the couch in a huff, mutinously sticking his bare feet under Sonny’s thigh.

Sonny let out a tiny yelp at the touch of Rafael’s cold feet which he hastily turned into a cough before scowling at him. “Uh-huh,” he said, shoving Rafael’s feet away from him. “Yeah, ok, text me the address. I’ll be there in half an hour.” He hung up and gave Rafael a look. “You about done being a brat about this?”

“No,” Rafael said petulantly, watching as Sonny stood and headed into their bedroom to change into something more work appropriate. “You know, this wasn’t supposed to happen anymore with you in the DA’s office.”

He had tried to school his tone into something less pointed, but judging by the look Sonny gave him as he poked his head out of their bedroom, he hadn’t succeeded. “Oh, yeah?” Sonny said. “How many holidays and dates did you miss over the years because SVU caught a case?”

Rafael made a face. “Fair point.”

“Besides,” Sonny added, adjusting his tie as he strode out of their bedroom, patting his hip distractedly as if checking for his badge, despite the fact that it had been months now since he’d worn it, “this one involves a kid.”

Rafael sobered instantly, knowing how Sonny was affected by cases involving kids. “Is the kid ok?” he asked cautiously.

Sonny shrugged. “He doesn’t seem to be hurt at least, though he’s being taken to the hospital to get checked out., Beyond that, we’re not really sure. Anonymous 911 call said that two men had broken into the building. Unis found the two men, but they’re elderly and in bad shape, real beat up. Possibly homeless, maybe squatters, no ID on either of ‘em.” He grabbed his coat off the coat rack. “Place was a wreck, though — it’s one of those condo buildings that’s been under construction forever, it seems like. Paint everywhere, holes in the floorboards, loose masonry, faulty electricity—” He shook his head. “Even if the kid’s fine, we’re definitely looking at child endangerment based on the description of the scene alone.”

Rafael nodded slowly. “Is SVU thinking kidnapping?”

“Possibly. I’m headed to the hospital to talk to the kid, see if I can find out more. Besides, there’s conflicting reports from the unis on the scene that I gotta get to the bottom of,” Sonny said, pulling his coat on. “Some are saying the kid did the damage to the property, created booby traps to deter the perps and who knows what else.”

“Like Home Alone?” Rafael asked, sitting up and sounding interested for the first time.

Sonny ignored him. “Others are saying the kid was lost and stumbled into the whole mess.”

“Like Home Alone 2: Lost in New York?”

Sonny rolled his eyes. “And here you were telling me not even two weeks ago that you didn’t see why we needed to steal my sister’s log in for Disney+,” he said good-naturedly, bending over to kiss the top of Rafael’s head.

“Well, with the hours you’ve been pulling lately—“ Rafael started, though he broke off when Sonny gave him a look.

“You know the holidays are crazy,” he said with a sigh, and though Rafael made a face, he nonetheless nodded.

Because he did.

“Just—“ he started, breaking off again as he searched Sonny’s expression, as he saw the exhaustion the pinched at the edges of his eyes. “Just try to get back here as quickly as you can. It is Christmas, after all.”

Sonny smiled wanly. “I know,” he said, leaning down to kiss Rafael once more. “Helluva Christmas present, huh?”

“No, but the one waiting for you when you get home will be,” Rafael said evenly, his tone indicating exactly what he planned to do with him when he got home, and Sonny grinned.

“Promise I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

“You better,” Rafael called after him, settling back against the couch and taking a sip of wine. He sighed mournfully at the lack of warmth and tugged the afghan Sonny’s nonna had knitted from the back of the couch and snuggling underneath it. He hesitated for a moment before reaching out for the remote and pressing play, a small, content smile crossing his face as the flames crackled cheerfully on the TV screen.

* * *

He must have fallen asleep, because the next thing Rafael knew, a tiny, high-pitched giggle sounded in his ear. “He’s drooling!” a child’s voice squealed delightedly, and Rafael sat bolt upright, blinking owlishly.

“Wha—” he started, breaking off when he saw Sonny, who looked like he was trying not to laugh, and a small, blond-haired child he didn’t recognize who was currently standing about a foot from Rafael and  _ smirking _ , if it was possible for children to smirk. “What’s going on?”

“Rafael, this is JR,” Sonny said, which didn’t even begin to answer Rafael’s question. “JR, this is Mr. Rafael. You remember what I told you about him? He’s my—”

“Your boyfriend, I know,” JR said, sounding bored. “Can I go play now?”

Sonny looked bemused but shrugged. “Go ahead,” he said, and the kid let out a whoop before tearing into the pile of toys Sonny normally only broke out when one of his nieces or nephews or Amanda’s kids were over. 

Rafael stood, wincing when his knees popped as he did, and he made his way carefully to Sonny, trying to avoid stepping on any of the toys that the kid had already tossed aside. “Dare I ask?” he said mildly, stretching up to kiss Sonny lightly.

Sonny looked guilty. “Well, he got released by the hospital, and since no one was quite sure what to do with him, I volunteered to watch him.”

“Former detective, current ADA — you really felt like you had to pad your resume by adding babysitter?” Rafael asked.

If anything, Sonny looked even guiltier. “Well, see, that’s the thing — it’s really your resume we’re padding here.”

Realization hit, and Rafael glared at Sonny, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Do not tell me—” he started warningly, as Sonny took an automatic step back.

“It’ll just be for a few hours!” he said pleadingly. “I gotta run back to the office, get some paperwork in order, but then I promise I will be back and you will be relieved of duties.”

“If you think for one moment I’m going to—” Rafael hissed, but Sonny cut him off.

“C’mon, Raf, CPS won’t be open until the 26th, and I couldn’t just leave him at the precinct, not on Christmas!” Rafael spluttered wordlessly at that but Sonny barrelled onward. “Look, just put on a movie — Miracle on 34th Street, or Elf or whatever, and the kid will probably fall asleep! Besides, I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

Rafael smirked. “Oh yeah?” he murmured, leaning in to press a kiss to the corner of Sonny’s mouth. “You’ll do that thing with your tongue on my—”

“Candy cane,” Sonny finished loudly, tossing a slightly panicked look at the kid, who wasn’t paying them an iota of attention. Still, he elbowed Rafael and gave him a look before adding, “Yes. I will do that. Ok?”

Rafael’s smirk faded slightly. “What if he doesn’t fall asleep?” he asked, panic beginning to set in.

“I’ll be home before that becomes a problem,” Sonny promised. “And in the meantime, try and get him to talk. Both perps are in pretty bad shape, so the sooner we can figure out what happened, the sooner we can try and get the kid home to wherever he belongs.”

Rafael sighed, but he had known as soon as he saw Sonny that he had lost this battle. “Fine,” he relented. “But remember, you owe me.”

Sonny laughed and kissed him. “Deal,” he said, before making his way over to JR and squatting next to him. “Hey, JR? I have to head back to the police station, but Rafael here is gonna hang out with you, ok?

“Ok,” JR said, without any apparent concern.

Sonny smirked at Rafael before adding in a mock-undertone, “Be gentle with him, ok? He’s an old man.”

“Get out,” Rafael ordered, rolling his eyes, and Sonny laughed and kissed him once more before leaving. Once he was gone, Rafael turned to JR, eyeing him warily before crossing over to sit back down on the couch. “So,” he started, a little awkwardly, “do you want to watch a movie?”

“Ok!” JR said, though he still didn’t look up from the toys he was playing with.

Still, Rafael took it as a small victory and pulled up Miracle on 34th Street and settled back against the couch, taking a quick swig of wine and hoping for a miracle of his own.

* * *

His miracle didn’t pan out. He’d run through all the Christmas movies he could find streaming for free, and Sonny had not yet returned and the kid looked no closer to sleeping than he had hours before. It was almost dawn, and Rafael was so tired he was about ready to pass out.

Instead, he drained his third cup of coffee of the morning and blinked blearily as JR carefully lined up some Micro Machines he had evidently found in the pile of toys, setting them in a messy row in front of the door, something strangely familiar in the gesture. “Be careful,” Rafael warned. “If someone steps on those, it’ll hurt.”

“I know,” JR told him. “That’s why I’m doing it. They’ll protect us.”

“Protect you?” Rafael asked. “From what?”

JR shrugged. “Bad guys,” he said offhandedly.

For the first time, Rafael realized where he had seen this before, and despite himself, he smiled. “Did you learn that from watching a movie?” he asked, amused, remembering Kevin from Home Alone doing much the same thing.

JR just shrugged again as he carefully placed another Micro Machine. “No,” he said. “My dad taught me.”

“Probably because he’s seen the movie,” Rafael murmured, making a face at the realization that the kid from Home Alone would be old enough to have kids of his own by now. “Hey, speaking of bad guys, can you tell me about the men that you were found by?”

He had hoped it would be a good segue to try to get the kid talking, but instead, JR just froze, staring down at the Micro Machines. “If you don’t know, that’s ok,” Rafael hastened to add. “It doesn’t—”

He broke off when JR let out what sounded suspiciously like a sniffle. “Do you think this is my fault?” he asked, his voice wavering slightly as he looked up at Rafael.

“Absolutely not,” Rafael said firmly, standing and making his way over to him, crouching down so that he was more on his level. “I don’t exactly know what happened to you, but I know it wasn’t your fault.”

But JR didn’t look convinced. In fact, his lower lip stuck out and started trembling. “I wished my family would disappear,” he whispered. “And now I’m here and I’m all alone.”

Rafael winced, wishing for not the first time that someone, anyone else was here to deal with this. “You’re not alone,” he said, trying to keep his voice gentle. “You’ve got me, and Sonny will be back soon, so you’ve got him. And we’re going to find your family.”

“But I wished they would disappear!” JR protested. “How will you find ‘em?”

Rafael rocked back on his heels, casting about for something a child would understand. “Well, sometimes wishes come true, right? Like when you ask Santa for a gift or blow out the candles on your birthday cake. But sometimes, wishes have nothing to do with it. Sometimes things just happen, and it’s not because you’ve wished that they would.”

JR nodded slowly before asking, “Do you think if I wished really hard, I might get my family back?”

“I don’t know,” Rafael said honestly. “But you know what?” JR shook his head, his eyes wide and solemn. I know that wherever Sonny is right now, he’s wishing really hard to find your family, too.”

Sonny would probably kill him for referring to prayer as wishing, but JR brightened. “Ok,” he said, before screwing his eyes shut in concentration. “I wish I had my family back.”

Suddenly, Rafael’s phone rang, and he scrambled to answer it. “Any update?” he asked, wincing at the pain in his knees as he straightened.

“Yeah,” Sonny said, and Rafael breathed a sigh of relief, because he could tell from Sonny’s voice that he was smiling. “We found his family. JR matches an Amber Alert outta Illinois. Apparently, he was kidnapped as part of some kinda revenge scheme against his dad. Parents are flying out to New York as we speak.”

Rafael grinned. “Oh, thank God,” he said. “Does that mean you’ll be coming home soon?”

“As soon as I finish up the paperwork to transfer this case to the US Attorney’s office,” Sonny told him. “Kidnapping over state lines makes it federal and means it’s no longer my problem.”

Rafael laughed. “Thank God for jurisdictions,” he teased. “Just get home, ok?”

“I will,” Sonny promised.

“Oh, and Sonny? Merry Christmas.”

Sonny laughed lightly. “Merry Christmas, Raf. I love you.”

“Love you, too.” Rafael hung up and grinned at JR, who was looking up at him. “I’ve got some really good news. We found your parents! They’re on their way to New York right now to take you home.”

JR let out a whoop and bolted to his feet before running over and hugging Rafael around the waist. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he chanted.

Rafael laughed and gingerly patted the boy’s head. “Merry Christmas, JR,” he said. “Looks like you got your wish after all.”

JR let go of him but didn’t make as if to go back to his toys, instead just beaming up at Rafael, who shifted his weight, wondering what else he was supposed to say. He came up with exactly nothing. 

So he awkwardly changed the subject. “I imagine you’ll be glad to go home, right, JR?” When JR just nodded in response, he asked, somewhat desperately, “So, um, does JR stand for something?”

“Yeah,” JR said, wiping his nose on his sleeve, and Rafael tried not to immediately shrink away in disgust. “It stands for Junior, cuz I’m named after my dad.”

Rafael smiled in relief, because here was common ground they could discuss. “So is Sonny!” he said excitedly. “His full name is Dominick Carisi, Jr., but he goes by Sonny. What’s your full name?” 

“Oh, it’s Kevin,” JR said, and Rafael started, because given all the other similarities, wasn’t that a coincidence— “Kevin McAllister, Jr.”


End file.
